


Beneath the World

by Pent



Series: The Dawn Mirage [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, M/M, Natural Disasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 14:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4831883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pent/pseuds/Pent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Groudon is awakened and a terrible drought spreads throughout Hoenn, Steven and Wallace do everything in their power to ensure the safety of humanity and each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beneath the World

_People don’t want to believe that this is reality,_ Wallace scrawled into his logbook, eyes dark and unfocused from lack of sleep. The dim light from Steven’s desk lamp across the room illuminated the page just enough for Wallace to be able to make out the words he was writing. _It’s hard to accept that life is a luxury. That your very home is threatening to take that away from you._

Wallace would have preferred for such an important record to be kept in neater handwriting, but there was not enough time to be picky anymore. With a quick glance at the clock—4:32 AM—Wallace closed the logbook and set it on the edge of his nightstand. He stared at Steven across the bedroom, his husband’s terrible posture catching his eye. Images of death and apocalypse boiled through Wallace’s aching mind like lava as he unburied himself from the covers and slipped out of bed.

Steven was hunched over his desk with his head in his hands, surrounded by messy piles of ancient texts that Wallace had translated, as well as arrays of photographs of the paintings in Granite Cave depicting the impending disaster that the two were losing so much sleep over. He jumped when Wallace brushed his hands across his tight shoulders.

“Come to bed, love,” said Wallace. “Won’t you?”

“Why is this happening…?” Steven muttered, almost to himself as he let his head sink further into his hands, fingers running through his hair. His voice was groggy. Repeating what he had done hundreds of times that night, he shuffled through the documents as if the answer would present itself to him in an epiphany. “There has to be something we missed. There has to…”

“There’s no magical remedy for any of this,” said Wallace smoothly, massaging Steven’s shoulders. “Right now, all we can do is wait to see what disaster is wrought, and act from there.”

Steven closed his eyes tight and brought his hands up to rub them. A deep sigh escaped his nose.

“You need sleep. It’s very important that we are well-rested and focused in the coming days.” Steven said nothing in response, not showing any indication that he heard Wallace at all. Softer, Wallace said, “Steven. Get some rest.”

“You haven’t been sleeping well, either,” Steven said, looking down at the desk. “Don’t let me keep you awake. I just need to…”

Steven trailed off, and the two knew that the sentence was never meant to be finished. There was nothing more they could do. Washed over by a feeling of hopelessness, Wallace felt his throat tighten. “Steven, I—”

Eyes filled with concern and surprise, Steven raised his head and shifted around in his chair to look at Wallace. He took Wallace’s hand in his own, caressing it. After a short breath, Wallace swallowed. “—I won’t be able to sleep. Without you beside me. Please.”

Wallace felt exposed and vulnerable. “Oh, Steven. If we’re unable to control such a powerful wrath out of humanity’s hands, then the world will—” Steven stood and wrapped his arms around Wallace, who relaxed his body in the embrace. Wallace broke the hug and locked eyes with Steven. In a stronger voice, he said, “I want to spend as much time with you as possible, my love.”

Steven attempted a smile, but it only made the circles under his eyes and the droopiness of his face more prominent. He leaned over the desk to turn off the lamp, making Wallace feel more relieved than satisfied.

In the comforting darkness, they kissed—a short, meaningful kiss followed by the two snuggling into bed together, bodies heavy from stress and exhaustion.

With Steven’s arms wrapped around him, the warmth of his tired body against his back, Wallace felt as if everything was going to be okay. Gentle as to not stir Steven from his sleep, Wallace reached for his logbook on the nightstand. Eyes focusing through the darkness, he wrote, _However, in times of extreme crisis at the very brink of humanity, the good in our spirits brightly prevails. No human on the planet is a stranger and all turns to empathy,_ Steven shifted in his sleep, snuggling closer to Wallace. Lovingly, Wallace brought his arm around to stroke Steven’s leg. _The indescribable connections between family, friends, and lovers strengthening to that of titanium._  
  


* * *

  
Warning signs had been there for months, but the blinding pillar of light that pierced straight into the atmosphere above Hoenn’s clear skies was what it took for people to finally accept the disturbing reality that the world was in grave danger. An earthquake followed, waking Hoenn into a region-wide panic.

“I’m not leaving Sootopolis,” Wallace repeated firmly. Steven tightened his death grip on Skarmory’s back as he sped through the skies, gathering from the static over the Pokénav line that Wallace was outside—grounded in front of the Cave of Origin—and wasn’t planning on leaving until the entire disaster was quelled.

Such was his duty, but still, Steven called.

“Please, Wallace.” The tunneling sounds of now-scorching winds lapping against Steven’s body muffled his voice. “ _Please_. You’re in terrible danger… Groudon—the drought…”

“I’m well aware.” A thoughtful span of silence followed; Steven knew that his efforts were in vain. Wallace spoke in the same tone as before, smooth and level, “I’m sorry, love. I’m needed here more than ever.”

“Wallace… this is—”

“I have to go. Steven, I love you. More than anything.”

“Wallace!” Steven shouted over the vicious winds, but the click of his receiver meant that it was already too late. Upset, Steven let his hand fall to his side after confirming on his Pokénav that Wallace had ended the call.

“Dammit…” he whispered, voice breaking in pain. He loosened his grip on Skarmory’s back, feeling as though his entire world was in a haze.

In what seemed like mere moments later, Skarmory let out a sharp caw, snapping Steven out of his gruesome thoughts. He squinted through the bright sunlight at the rippling ocean beneath him. May stood alone on a sandy islet, and Steven had never been more relieved to see her in his life. “Skarmory, as fast as possible,” he said, patting the side of her steel chest.

Skarmory obeyed, swooping down at top speeds. Steven jumped off into the blazing sands as Skarmory used her momentum to fly into the sky again. “May!”

* * *

  
The sweltering heat made the Cave of Origin look like a distant mirage.

“The best way to prevent such a disaster is to preserve the measures that which are holding it back,” said Wallace sternly. “With the ancient seal binding Groudon broken, a chain of disasters has been unleashed. I’m afraid the world’s wrath will not be sated until all life—humans and pokémon alike—are burnt to ashes.”

Maxie hung his head, unable to look Wallace in the eyes.

“But there is nothing to fear.” He looked up at the sky again, the bloated, dangerous sun looming over them. The absence of clouds and a gentle a breeze stirred a grim feeling into the air. “This can all be undone. As an ancient Sootopolitan, I am unable to enter the Cave of Origin. However…”

“...Surely there’s something you can do,” said Maxie. Beads of sweat dotted his face. “Anything at all. You’re the guardian, are you not?”

Wallace frowned.

A piercing reflection of light rained down from the sky. In a matter of seconds, Skarmory swooped down in front of the cave, the glimmer of her wings in the harsh sunlight sharp and painful. Steven climbed off Skarmory’s back, disheveled and as pale as a ghost. He marched directly towards Wallace, barely glancing at the others around him.

"Steven?" Thrown off, Wallace's brow furrowed in puzzled concern. "Why aren't you with—"

Steven stumbled straight into Wallace and wrapped him in a constricting hug. He buried his face into Wallace's shoulder and breathed in his scent with a shaky breath. Wallace curled his arms around Steven's back, bringing a hand up his neck and through his hair to the back of his head.

He gently tore Steven away to look him in the eyes, but Steven’s gaze remained downwards. "Steven. Where's May?” Wallace asked, voice unwavering. "Please. Focus."

"...Right. She’s…” A long, painful pause. “I told her to hurry to Sootopolis."

“Good.” And Wallace smiled, running his fingers down Steven’s warm arm. He planted a kiss on his forehead. “Thank you, love. There’s nothing to worry about, then. We just have to wait for her to arrive.”

Steven closed his eyes and composed himself. Looking at Wallace, knitting his fingers together with his husband’s, he could say with certainty, “...Everything is going to be okay.”


End file.
